The Easiest Elimination Diet Strategy That May Change Your Life Forever

Food allergies are quite common in America. Conservatively speaking, around 15 million people suffer from them. They may even be life-threatening. (Think of the child who needs to carry an epinephrine pen in the event he ingests or inhales a peanut to prevent anaphylactic shock.) Unlike a debilitating chronic condition, one does not need to live with its side-effects forever. The quickest and cheapest way to detect a food allergy is an elimination diet. But first let’s review:

The most common food allergens

Dairy

Eggs

Shellfish

Sugar

Nuts

Legumes

Grains

The most likely culprit in the grain family will be wheat. Refined wheat, which is flour, pervades our processed foods. Bread, pasta, pizza, crackers, cookies, most cereals contain some form of flour.

The symptoms of a food allergy

If you experience any of the following symptoms, you might be allergic to one of these aforementioned foods:

Bloating

Abdominal Pain

Rash

Difficulty Breathing

“Brain Fog” (The inability to concentrate.)

Foul-smelling flatus

Joint pain

How to identify a food allergy?

An allopathic (traditional) doctor will likely refer you to have an allergy blood test. These are expensive and many times unreliable. The easiest way to identify a food allergen is to commence an elimination diet. An elimination diet is simple in principle.

Step 1: Remove all possible food allergens from your diet.

The first thing that might come to your head is “How can I eliminate dairy, grains, and sugars?!” What can I possibly eat?” Though it might be a sacrifice, the long-term benefits of figuring out what is wrong with you is worth the ordeal. Remember though you can still eat all the meat, vegetables, fruits you like.

After one week of removing these foods, you will feels a lot better. Not only will you not be suffering the effects of the food allergen, but you will likely be eating a “cleaner” diet. Many of the typical food allergens, for example dairy and grains, are naturally inflammatory to the body.

Step 2: Re-introduce one suspect allergen one week at a time.

After one week of purifying your diet, I recommend reintroducing dairy or grains first since those might be the likely culprits. Let’s say you bring back dairy on Day 8. If your symptoms don’t return for a week then we can deduce that you are not allergic to dairy. Great news! On Day 15 you re-introduce nuts. Same results. No anaphylactic shock or rashes. Nice! On Day 22 you re-introduce grains. Immediately the bloating, abdominal pain, and “brain fog” reappear. Bingo! You are allergic to grains!

The elimination diet is simple and inexpensive. The short-term sacrifice one must make to eliminate these foods belies its long-term benefit. You now know what food allergen has been driving you crazy for years.

At this time I would like to promote the Paleo/ancestral lifestyle, for adoption of this lifestyle automatically eliminates the two biggest culprits from your diet (i.e. dairy and grains). Though our bodies might be able to digest diary and grains, evolutionary-speaking we are not adept at it. For millions of years our body has become quite skilled at metabolizing naturally-occurring foods. Dairy and the cornucopia of foods that come out of grains and its flour we are not. I like to stick to the simple adage, “If God didn’t make it, don’t eat it!” Either way the good news is now you know what is the source of your malady. The bad news is that you should remove it from your diet. The transition will be difficult for some, but the fact you will be feeling better in a few days will likely propel you to continue. Your weight will likely drop, your skin will clear up, and you will have better cognition. If that isn’t a convincing enough article, just ponder on this notion. “Who chooses to have stinky flatus if one doesn’t need to have it?”

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About A. Gregory

I am A. Gregory Luna, co-founder and primary blogger for Naturopathic Earth and host of the NPE Radio & Occult Health News and Confessions of an Obese Child podcasts. I was a formerly overweight adolescent who parlayed my years of struggles and triumphs, and knowledge accrued from working in the “sick”care industry and as a medical & nutrition instructor, into becoming a dual-certified Health Consultant. I have been published in Natural Awakenings magazine. We want to be an outlet to help those in need of weight loss & maintenance as well as bring awareness about holistic health, naturopathy, & medical cover-ups.. I love talking about toxins in our life and medical conspiracies. I live in San Antonio, TX.

About Katie

I’m a mother of five children (all under the age of 11) and a lover of all things holistic. Gregory & I created this site in Jan 2017. I enjoy scrapbooking, crossword puzzles, and of course, aromatherapy. Thanks for listening to Kate’s Essential Oil Apothecary!

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About Irina Sue

Irina Sue is a Register Social Worker with a focus in natural nutrition. Irina’s passion is a holistic approach to treatment connecting physical and emotional dimensions of wellness. She believes that any human being is able to use food as medicine and develop a lifestyle to feel at their best, after discovering and addressing the root cause of their symptoms.

Disclaimer

We, here at Naturopathic Earth, are not doctors or registered dietitians. Everything we have written on this site are from my own personal experience and should not be used as medical advice. Before starting any new diet and exercise program please check with your doctor and clear any exercise and diet changes with them before beginning.